A new record!!!

This is the worst air quality reading I've seen so far: 196 on 20250107-0825.

Sitting inside with the air purifiers running, I could be anywhere, even in outer space. Space Station Thailand, indeed!

20250107-0825

A Christmas Eve swim is pretty great...

I mean, I got a chance, a window where the air pollution index was not too high, and the temperature was great at 23 degrees. I felt actually cool. Which brings me to the point of this post:

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my people all around everywhere!!! 

I'm not going to get around to individual emails this year (or maybe any future years). Like the lady said when she went viral some years ago: "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

If, by chance, you were wondering about Ol' Jerry, and what he's up to, and if, by following Internet conventions, you found your way here, then this is it. I'm back in นครราชสีมา / Nakhon Ratchasima. The transition from CannTellTroy to here was hard. Just now being completed in some ways, I guess you could say.

I miss you all. Have a great winter holiday season, and Lunar New Year will be here before you know it on Wednesday, January 29th. You may not know this (because this is only my personal theory), but Chinese New Year marks the end of winter and the beginning of early spring.

20241223
สามแยก ตลาดแค

A bicycle ride wearing a KN-95 mask is better than no bicycle ride at all.

I guess it was my dream that the air wouldn't get bad until mid-January. I got back right at the end of the rainy season, and the air is already toxic. Too bad for me and the millions of locals who are losing healthy years of their lives. 

For myself, a bicycle ride wearing a KN-95 mask is better than no bicycle ride at all. You still get the morning sunshine that Professor Huberman recommends, and you still get to see some interesting birds.

20241109

20241110

You can deny reality as long as you like...

But you're just setting yourself up for an even bigger task when you finally, necessarily, inevitably have to face reality. Let me know, America, when you're using the metric system like the rest of the world. Until then, carry on in your prideful ignorance. Worship your celebrities. Worship your billionaires. Worship your right to carry military-grade weapons. 

It has been decided, by a majority of the people, that we're going to go through some things. I know a bit about the Chinese Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. I cannot imagine why anyone would think that something like that would be a good idea. But here we are. 

Thoughts and prayers? I pray. I pray for America.

Birdsongs are different today.

I got up at 04:30 this morning, and I noticed right away that the birdsongs were completely different. I already miss Perry County nature greatly, but it's on me to do a better job of seeking out the nature that still exists here. There are pockets.

20241106

I don't think I can do it anymore.

At 20241103-1500, I successfully returned my rental car at San Francisco airport. I don't think I can do it again, the whole rental car at SFO and driving at high speeds in SF Bay area traffic. 

I have been known to whine about the need for regular medical testing as we age in order to monitor what skills are being lost. 

It turns out that those tests are provided by the real world. Put me down for the following:

• No driving at night
• No airport rental cars and big city freeway driving 

I have a plan, someone that I intend to train as my capable escort. One thing is certain. I can no longer lead international travel expeditions. 

Thank you, drivers of Thailand.

I did not imagine that I owed the drivers of Thailand a debt of gratitude. But I do. Thank you, drivers of Thailand for teaching me to accept near-death experiences on the road as a normal part of driving. 

There I was westbound on Kentucky 60 on my way to the Rockport Bridge. Running at 90 to 95 kph (55 to 60 mph), I saw ahead of me, coming right at me, a white car trying to pass a tanker truck. 

It didn't look right. The tanker was too fast and the white car too slow. The white car was in my lane and headed right at me. 

But I felt no fear, none at all. I slowed down, and there was plenty of road shoulder for me to pull into. I used the shoulder, the white car used my lane to finally pass the tanker, and I calmly moved out of the shoulder and back into my lane. 

My heart rate increased not at all. There was no cursing. No reaction of any sort. Witnessing that kind of dangerous passing is completely normal to me.

In the dangerous driver's defense, there was plenty of shoulder, easily enough for us to make three or four lanes out of the two painted lanes if necessary. In this case, we turned it into three lanes, and it wasn't hard to do. The alternative would have been a head-on collision had I insisted on remaining within the painted lines.

Painted lines and lane markings, traffic rules and regulations, what do they really matter in the end. The drivers of Thailand have taught me well. There is only one rule: Don't hit or be hit. 

And a near-death experience or two or three or more on a drive? Keep calm and carry on my friends. Today is not your day to die.

Remember books?

20240722

As it should be on Planet Earth

Here in Tell City, even during a heatwave, you can still get outside in the mornings and evenings. 24 degrees at 21:35 hours, with an AQI (air quality index) reading of 14 (very green).

I spent a long time living on Space Station Thailand. For a person who has to be outdoors, living on a space station just gets harder and harder over time. I miss some people, but I don't miss the environmental destruction. Concrete. Diesel. No trees. Once upon a time, it was a natural paradise.

Space station escapee rides again...

Having escaped from Space Station Thailand (extreme long-term air pollution, extreme long-term heat), I rode a bicycle again for the first time in months. It was glorious!!!

20240511